Abnormal cell growth study guide. This document includes in-depth notes from lectures on abnormal cell growth. Highlighted material in this document were turned into exam questions!
• Abnormal Cell Growth
• Cancer Development
• Cancer Development
• Nurses have a vital impact in their role of educating the public about cancer prevention
and early detection!
• Cellular regulation is the process to control cellular growth needed to maintain
homeostasis.
• Any new growth or continued cell growth not needed for normal development of
dead/damaged tissue is called neoplasia. This is abnormal growth even if it causes no
harm (benign),
• Benign vs. Malignant Cell Growth
• Common types of altered cell growth:
• Benign – does not usually require intervention
• Malignant – indicates cancer
• Biology of Normal Cells:
Normal cells have these characteristics:
• Specific morphology (identify specific type)
• Small nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio
• Differentiated function
• Tight adherence because of proteins
• Biology of Normal Cells (cont’d)
• Non-migratory (stays in area of origin)
• Orderly and well-regulated growth
• Mitosis (Cell division orderly, on schedule)
• Contact inhibition (stops appropriately)
• Apoptosis (destruction of abnormal)
• Normal chromosomes (euploidy – usual number)
• Features of Benign Tumor Cells
• Continuous or inappropriate cell growth
• Specific morphology
• Small nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio
• Specific differentiated functions
• Tight adherence
• No migration
• Orderly growth-normal growth patterns occur in benign tumor cells even though their
growth is not needed, growth continues beyond an appropriate time or occurs in the
wrong place indicates a problem with cellular regulation, but the rate of grown is
normal.
• Normal chromosomes
• Features of Malignant (cancer) Cells
• Anaplasia – loss of specific appearance
• Larger nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio-cancer cell nucleus is larger than that of abnormal cell
• Specific functions are lost partially or completely, cancer cells serve no useful purpose
, • Loose adherence-cancer cells easily break off from the main tumor; not bound together
tightly
• Migration-occurs because cancer cells do bind together tightly together, the ability to
spread (metastasize) is unique to cancer cells and is a major cause of death
• Features of Malignant Cancer Cells (cont’d)
• Contact inhibition does not occur because of lost cellular regulation, the cell division
makes the disease difficult to manage
• Rapid cell division
• Abnormal chromosomes the chromosome number and/or structure is not normal.
• Cancer Development
• Carcinogenesis/oncogenesis = cancer development
• Malignant transformation occurs through:
• Initiation – Exposure to cancer causing substance (carcinogens) – DNA damage,
loss of cellular regulation
• Promotion – exposure to promoters (latency – too small to detect, between
initiation and development of tumor); substances that enhance group
• Progression – becomes malignant, 1-cm detectable = billion cells, primary tumor
• Metastasis – cells move to a new location ; from primary to secondary
• Metastasis
• Metastasis occurs through:
• Extension into surrounding tissues
• Blood vessel penetration
• Release of tumor cells
• Invasion
• Local seeding – cancer cells can break away from primary tumor, travel, then
come back and makes tumor of origin grow
• Bloodborne metastasis – spread into blood *MOST COMMON CAUSE OF CANCER
METASTASIS*
• Lymphatic spread
• Carcinogenesis/Oncogenesis (Cancer development)
• Primary tumor-original tumor
• Metastasis occurs when cancer cells move from the primary location, these addition
tumors are called metastatic tumors. Even though the tumor is now in another organ, it
is still a cancer from the original altered tissue. Example: when breast cancer spreads to
the lungs and bone, it is still breast cancer and not bone cancer.
• Metastasis occurs through many steps, figure 21-3 on next slide
• Steps of Metastasis
• Common Sites of Metastasis for Different Cancer Types
Breast
• Bone
• Lung (most common)
• Liver
• Brain
Lung Cancer
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